Q:

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I have a 1985 Honda CRX Si with a 1.5-liter fuel-injected engine. The problem: It restarts poorly and runs roughly, at least if I try to restart before it sits for 12 to 18 hours or more. It cranks over fine but takes a few seconds to fire up. If I hold the throttle open it helps the car to start quicker. The fuel injectors are rebuilt and balanced and said not to be leaking down. The coolant- temp sending unit is new, the air-temp sending unit is new, and there are no warning lights. I have a new fuel pump, a new oxygen sensor and a clean air filter too. Once the engine starts, it runs roughly for 10 to 15 seconds, then smooths out and runs great. Holding the pedal down to the floor seems to help. Note: In very cold weather, say 32 degrees or below, it always starts fine. No one has yet been able to diagnose the trouble successfully.

A:

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In spite of your assertion that the injectors don't leak, this sounds like a leaky injector is fuel-fouling one cylinder. After you tease the engine to life on the other three cylinders, the extra fuel evaporates and then the plug starts firing. There are two tipoffs that this is the problem: the rough running until the wet plug dries off and starts to contribute, and the fact that waiting a half-day or more lets the excess fuel dissipate on its own. If you wait long enough before trying to restart, the extra fuel evaporates. Cranking with the throttle open makes the excess fuel dissipate quicker.

Check the dipstick. Does the oil smell like unburned fuel? It's likely that the dripping fuel is washing past the rings and into the crankcase. Run the car for long enough to get the engine hot. Then park it for 2 hours or so, until it cools off and you know it will be hard to start. Crank the engine for a few seconds and immediately shut it off. Then pull the plugs. I'll bet one of them is wet with fuel--and that's your bad injector. If you need proof, swap two injectors, and the fouled plug will follow.

Another check is to put a pressure gauge on the fuel rail, and see if it holds residual pressure after shutoff. If it does, then the injectors aren't leaking down.

Gear Jammin'

Q:

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A while ago the transmission on my pickup became difficult to shift, as if the gears wanted to clash. This condition would go away and then return for several weeks at a time. One day, I could not shift into gear at all. Only by double-clutching the transmission was I sometimes able to get the truck into gear. I jacked the truck up and ran it through the gears, and noticed the truck was engaged in a forward gear when the shifter was in neutral. This problem went away on its own, and I regained the ability to upshift, however, I still need to double-clutch to downshift.

A:

Oftentimes, a poorly adjusted clutch, or even a disintegrating clutch disc, can cause difficulty changing gears. The next most likely scenario is a bad pilot-shaft bearing. Specifically, the transmission input shaft goes through the center of the clutch disc and into a bearing at the center of the flywheel. When that bearing fails, it tries to spin the tranny input shaft even when the clutch pedal is depressed and the transmission and drivetrain are supposed to be disengaged from the engine.

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However--you say that the transmission was engaged even in neutral. The viscosity of the lubricant in the transmission will make the rear wheels spin weakly in neutral when the engine is idling, but I assume you mean that the wheels were locked to the engine in neutral. If so, you have a failed bearing between the transmission input and output shaft.

Actually, it really doesn't matter. Regardless of what has failed, the transmission has to be removed to access the clutch, flywheel or transmission internals. Once the trans is out of the truck, it should be obvious where the problem is.

Squeezed

Q:

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I live in Arizona and use 87-octane regular. In Utah, Idaho and Nevada, stations were selling 85-octane as regular gas. This forced me to pay more for midgrade 87-octane. Is this the latest petroleum-industry scam to get more of our money? Will my car run okay on this bogus 85-octane regular?

A:

Octane is the ability of a fuel to resist knock, and high-compression engines tend to knock more. The obverse of that is that lower-compression engines can run on lower-octane gas. Air is thinner the higher above sea level you go. Less air going into the cylinders means less pressure at top dead center when things go bang. It's a lot like lowering the compression ratio in the engine, reducing the need for high octane. Cars will run just fine on lower-octane fuel when they're well above sea level--and all of those states are. Hopefully, by the time you get back down to denser air, you've burned off most of the low-octane stuff, and can refill the tank with higher-grade fuel.